Gang borer



April 5, 1932. J. HQ MANSFIELD 1,852,124

GANG BORER Filed Aug. 6, 192 s 13 v 3 2 F .1. Fig.2. 14 18 W 19 19 Patented Apr. 5, 1932 JUDSON H. MANSFIELD, F ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN'OR TO GREENLEE- FEDS. & 00.,

OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS GANG IBORER Application filed August 6,

This invention relates to a gang borer adapted for use in furniture factories, truck and auto body plants, piano and pipe organ factories, and wherever perfect duplication of parts that require a multiplicity of holes bored therein in any predetermined desired arrangement in quantity production is desired.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a gang borer capable of an extremely wide range of adjustment and having certain features of construction and arrangement permitting the set-up to be'changed easily and quickly to suit practically any class of work, the same having universal spindles which permit wide cross-adjustment and having in connection with each of the spindles a spindle drive gear box adapted for easy andquick adjustment lengthwise of the machine. A special feature of the gear boxes is the provision of means thereon whereby the operator may, with a long handled wrench, unlock the same from a set position, adjust the same to another desired position, and lock the same in the newly adjusted position. Another feature of the gear box lies in the provision of additional means whereby the operator may, with the same wrench, engage or disengage the drive for the spindle so that certain spindles of the gang may be selected for operation and the others left idle according to the number of holes to be bored in the work.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a front view of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on a slightly enlarged scale on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing how the spindle drive gear boxes are mounted on the front and back of the cross-rail and arranged for independent adjustment lengthwise of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged section on the line 33 of Fig. 1 showing a front spindle drive gear box partly in elevation and partly in central vertical section; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical and horizontal sections, respectively, taken on the lines ea and 55 of Figs. 3 and 4, respectively.

1928. Serial 'No. 297,846.

The samereferencenumerals are applied to corresponding parts'throughout the views.

The machine illustrated comprises a frame to the table 7. Shafts 11 and 12 extending longitudinally of the top of the frame above the upper cross-rail 9 are received in bearings on the side frame members, the shafts being suitably interconnected for joint operation and one of the shafts having tight and loose pulleys 13 mounted on one end thereof, in case of a belt drive, or else being directly coupled to an electric motor. A cone pulley 14 on the other end of one of said shafts has av belt 15 thereon for transmitting the drive to another cone pulley 16 suitably connected with the table feeding mechanism previously referred to. A foot treadle 17 projecting from the front of the base of the machine is provided to control thefeeding mechanism for the manual control of the operation of the table 7.

The shafts 11 and 12 are splined (see Figs. 25) and extend through spindle drive gear boxes 18 and 19, respectively, disposed on the front and back of the upper crosserail 9, only a few of these boxes being shown as a matter of convenience although it will beunderstood that as many of these boxes will be provided, and universal spindles 20 with them, as may be required for any job apt to be encountered. The spindles 20 have universal joints 21 ust below the spindle drive gear boxes and other universal joints 22 justabove the shanks 23 received in brackets 24 on arms 25 mounted on the lower cross-rail 10. The universal joints permit the spindle to be adjusted to any position over the entire width of the table ,7. The arms 25 are. arranged to be bolted to the cross-rail 10 in any position of such crossadjustment of the spindles and likewise in 7 any position of adjustment of the, spindles chine practically universally adaptable to all classes of work. It will be understood that the shanks 23-of the spindles .20 have chucks to receive bits 26, the same being provided of the proper size or sizes to suit the job. 'Diff-erent sized spindles are also used fordifferent classes of work and, where the work involves extremely closebit centers, clusters of bits are used rather than a single bit on each spindle. Certain jobs also necessitate special supporting brackets to accommodate unusual grouping of holes.- The fact that I "provide front and rear sets of spindle drive gear, boxes enables the-use of'twi-ce as many spindles for a given length ofmachinewith the same facility and range of adjustment of the spindles as though spindles were proyided only-along the front of the machine, it being evident that, due to their size, there is a practical limit to the number of gear boxes that can be used handily on one side of the crossr'a-il. The range of usefulness of the machine is, therefore, accordingly broadened.

The spindle drive gear boxes 18 and 19 are of identical form so that a description of one of the boxes 18 will suflice for all. The box '18 comprises a standard 28 suitably 1n the form of a casting having a flat face 29 milled on one side thereof with a transverseproject'ion 30. The standard is arranged toslide along and be supported upona rail 31 mounted on the cross-rail9, the same having a T- slot 32 machined therein to'receive the projection 3O as well" as the head of abolt 33, which is arranged to have the adjusting nut 34 thereon set to a position providing for a close sliding fit of the standard on the rail,

' whereupon the lock nut 35, provided in connection with the nut 34, is arranged to be tightened to maintain the adjusted position. A- rack 36 mounted on top of the rail 31 has theteeth thereof disposed on the outer side for meshing engagement with a pinion 37 mounted on a stem 38 received in a bearing 39 on the side of the standard 28. The stem 38 has the lower end thereof protruding from the bearing 39 and slotted, as shown at 40, to receive the pin 41 provided in a socket 42 on theend of a long handled crank or wrench 43 provided in connection with the machine (see Fig. 1). The operator can easily reach the slotted end of the stem 38 of any one of the spindle drive gear boxes with the wrench 43 andturn a pinion 37 to cause it to run alon-gthe rack 36 and correspondingly adjust a gear box. A pin 44 mounted on the top of the boss wherein the bearing 39 is formed projects betweengthe teeth of the pinion 37 to hold the same against turning and '38, the pinionv 37 is first raised with thestem 38 to unlock the gear box, whereupon the turning ofthe pinion 37, by means of its stem, adjusts the gear box lengthwise of the cross-rail 9 and, when the desired position has been reached and the wrench is with drawn, the pinion 37 wi-lldrop-of itsown ac- V cord into locked position. It. will be evident that the gear boxes when once adjusted will be bound to stay in adjusted position. i

The standard 28 of each gear boxhas bearings therein, as indicated at 46, for a stub shaft 47 connected by. the universal joint 21 with the spindle 20 associated with the gear box. The shaft 47 carries a bevel pinion 48 on the upper end thereof meshing with a bevel gear 49 splined on the shaft 11 and received in a casing 50 cast'preferably integral with the upper end of the standard 28. The latter has a cap 51 bolted thereon, as shown at 51, to completelyenclose the gear 49 in the casing 50 and also hold the glands 52 in place. The latter,it will be observed, are splined on the shaft 11 like the gear 49 and have the peripheries thereof grooved to receive annular projections 53provided'in the openings in opposite sides ofthe casing 50, such that while the glands turn with the shaft 11 they are held against endwise movement and seal the casing 50 against leakage of lubricant therefrom. The gear 49 has an elongated hub 54 slidably and rotatably received in a bearing ring 55 arranged to be clamped in position on aseat 56 provided in the casing 50 when the cap 51 is bolted in place, a pin 57 projecting from a '9 ,hole in the cap 51 into a hole in the bearing.

ring 55 serving to hold the latter against lateral displacement. The bearing 55, it will be seen, serves to keep the shaft 11 centered with respect to the gear box so that the gear 49 will run smoothly and noiselessly in transmitting drive through the pinion 48 to the universal spindle. The gear 49 is shiftable into and out of meshing engagement with the pinion 48 by means of a shifter yoke 58 which is forked to, receive the gear 49, as best appears in Figsr4 and 5, and is reciprocable on a rod 59 mounted in the cap 51. The yoke 58 is slotted, as shown at 60, to receive an eccentric pin 61 mounted on the upper end of a stem 62 received in a bearing 63 in one side" of the casing 50. The lower end of the stem 62 is slotted, as appears at 64, and protrudes from the bearing 63 like the stem 38, previously referred to, in order that the wrench 43 may be engaged therewith to turn the same. Rotation of the stem 62 through approximately 180 from the position shown in Fig. is sufficient to shift the gear 49 out of meshing engagement with the pinion 48 so that the particular universal spindle 20 associated with the gear box will be allowed to stand idle. A pin 65 mounted in the stem 62 intermediate the ends thereof and projecting from one side thereof is ar ranged by engagement at either end of a slot 66 to limit turning of the stem 62 so that the operator knows definitely when the gear is engaged or disengaged. By virtue of the novel features just described it will be seen that any one or more of the spindles may be thrown into or out of operation at will and, where a particular job requires the use of only a few spindles, a saving in power as well as a saving in wear and tear on the machine is derived by declutching such spindles as are not to be used. 7

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a clear understanding of my invention and of its various objects and advantages. The appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a gang borer, the combination with a frame having a cross-rail and a work table below the same, of a drive shaft extending parallel to the cross-rail, a plurality of spindle drive gear boxes slida'bly mounted on the cross-rail and arranged for adjustment lengthwise thereof, the said boxes having spindles depending therefrom over the work table and arranged to receive bits for operation on the work, gearing in said boxes each having a spline connection with the drive shaft whereby the spindles are arranged to be driven from the shaft in any position of the gear boxes, a rack mounted on and extending lengthwise of the cross-rail, a gear on each of said gear boxes meshing with said rack and having means for manually turning the same at will in either direction whereby to adjust the gear boxes on the cross-rail, the gear for each box being operable fro-1n below, suitably by engagement of a wrench with a stem depending from the gear, and means for quickly detachably locking each of said gears against turning, the locking means being so constructed that the gear is unlocked by the raising thereof upon engagement of the wrench with its stem for turning the same.

2. In a gang borer, the combination with a frame having a cross rail at the top thereof, of a drive shaft on the top of the frame extending parallel to the cross rail, a plurality of spindle drive gear boxes slidably mounted on the cross rail for adjustment lengthwise thereof, the said boxes having spindles depending therefrom and arranged to receive bits for operation on work positioned on a suitable support below the cross rail, gearing in said boxes having a sliding driving connection with said shaft whereby the spindles are arranged to be driven by the shaft in any position of adjustment of the boxes, a shifter device in'each of the gear boxes arranged when moved todisconnect the spindle of the box from driving relation tothe shaft, and an operating stem for each shifter projecting downwardly through a bearingprovided therefor in each box and arranged when turned to operate the shifter to engageror disengage the spindle drive, the lowerlend of each stem being constructedto permit a quickly detachable operating connection to be made therewith from below by a suitable long handled operating crank whereby to permit quick and easycontrol of the spindle drives from the floor. i

3. In a gang borer, the combination with a frame having a cross rail at the top thereof, of a drive shaft on the top of the frame extending parallel to the cross rail, one or more spindle drive gearboxes slidably mounted on the cross rail for adjustment lengthwise thereof, the said boxes having spindles d6? pending therefrom and arranged to receive bits for operation on work positioned on a suitable support below the cross rail, gearing in said boxes having a sliding driving con nection with said shaft whereby the spindles are arranged to be driven by the shaft in any position of adjustment of the boxes, a rack extending lengthwise of the cross rail, an adjusting gearmounted on each of said gear boxes meshing with the rack and having an operating stem depending therefrom, the lower end of the stem being constructed ,to permit a quickly detachable operating connection to be madetherewith from below by a suitable long handled operating crank whereby to permit quick and easy adjustment from the floor of the gear boxes on the cross rail, and projections provided on said boxes for engagement between the teeth of the gears for holding the same against turning, the gears being arrangedto be disengaged from the projections by raising the same by means of their stems when the latter are engaged by the operating crank for turning thereof.

4:. Ina boring machine, the combination with a work table, of a spindle drive gear box mounted above the work table having a spindle depending therefrom to the work table and arranged to have. a bit mounted thereon for operation on the work, a drive shaft extending into the gear box and arranged to be normally continuously driven, bevel gears providing a driving connection between the drive shaft and the spindle, one of the bevel gears being mounted on the drive shaft and being normally engaged with the other bevel gear having connection with the spindle, a shiftable yoke engaging one of said gears and arranged to communicate axial movement thereto into and out of meshing engagement" with its mated gear, and means for shifting the yoke back andforth comprising a rotatable stem receivedin a bearing in said gear box and extending therefrom, said stem having aneccentric pin on the inner end thereof having engagement with apart of said yoke whereby in the turning of said stem reciprocation is communicated to the yoke, and said stem having means on the outer end thereof whereby the same is arranged to be turned from one position to the other. 7

5.'A machine as set forth in claim 4 including means for limiting turning of said stem in either direction so as to predetermine the two operative positions, said means comprising a pin projecting radially fromsaid stem into a semi-circular slot provided in the bearing for said stem. v V

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a frame having a crossrail and a work table therebeneath, of one'or more spindle drive gear boxes slidably mounted on the cross-rail for adjustment back and forth thereon, said box having a spindle depending therefrom toward the table arranged to have a tool mounted thereon for operation on. the work, a rack mounted on the crossrail extending lengthwise thereof, a gear meshing-with said rack having a stem for turning the same received in a bearing on said box, one end of said stem protruding from the box for manual operation, a pin normally projecting betweenthe teeth of said gear to hold the same against turning whereby to lock the box against movement, and means for turning said stem arranged to shift the gear out of engagement with said pin without, disengaging the same from the rack whereby to turn the gear and adjust the box on the cross-rail.

7. A machine as set forth in claim 6 including means normally in spaced relation to said gear arranged to limitthe movement thereof away from the pin whereby to prevent disengagement of said gear from the rack.

g In witness of the foregoing I aflix my signature.

JUDSON H. MANSFIELD. 

